Star Wars: My Enemy Is My Friend
by ARMaskell
Summary: When the Galactic Empire attacks a Jedi survivor's sanctuary, Valoccar Prime, only he and the staff of his small tow and salvage company can make the difference between freedom and Imperial rule. The Empire's true goals are unclear, and their forces are accompanied by a Sith Lord with his own mysterious agenda. Old friends become enemies... and old enemies become new friends.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 ** _Author's notes: This story is set in the year 1 BBY, and while making occasional references to Legends material, is intended to be set within the current canon. If I definitively contradict any established canon, please point this out so I may remedy it. This story is also available on Wattpad (just to be clear that I did not steal it from there)._**

The _Quasar_ cut through the space of the Outer Rim like a colossal knife. The Super Star Destroyer's target was almost in sight. Still far in the distance glittered the blue jewel that was the planet Valoccar Prime. Admiral Farek Dakken stood at attention on the bridge. His grey uniform was in such immaculate condition that only a powerful microscope would have found a wrinkle. He was cleanly shaven, displaying a strongly built chin on a well-sculpted face. His brown hair, slicked neatly back, was perhaps a centimetre longer than regulation. His blue eyes stared at the viewscreen with all the intensity of a hawk, but he shifted his footing as a frightening figure came onscreen.

"Admiral Dakken?" wheezed the figure. Moff Threll was a Chiss, complete with the characteristic blue skin and red eyes, and neatly slicked-back blue-black hair beneath his cap. Threll was in charge of governing the Unknown Regions, at least officially. An attack by an unknown assailant near Rakata Prime had started a fire on his ship, costing him the use of his right hand and incapacitating him for months while he recovered. Realizing how close he had come to losing an important governor, Emperor Palpatine had had the Moff sent for genetic enhancement. The intent had been to decrease Threll's demand for heat and oxygen in the event he should become exposed to a partial or complete vacuum. Unfortunately, the experiment had worked too well, and his body now demanded so little oxygen and heat that a normal atmosphere was toxic. Over a standard uniform, his torso was clad in flexible grey armour that protected a series of tubes that cooled the highly diluted oxygen he breathed through the mask covering the lower half of his face. The oxygen had originally been mixed with helium, but the Moff had insisted it be replaced with xenon. The helium would have made his voice sound too silly. Instead, he spoke now with a deep and reverberating tone which commanded respect, if not fear, in all who heard it. The primary drawback was the physical difficulty of breathing the heavy gas.

"Governor Viath'rel'lagreshouo, sir!" replied Dakken, straightening up even more. He always made a point to learn the full names of Chiss and to address them as such, and Threll respected him for it.

"At ease. You are familiar with your destination, I believe, Admiral?"

"Aye, sir. I grew up on Valoccar Prime. May I ask something though, sir?"

"Certainly, proceed."

"All due respect, sir, why are you overseeing this mission? The Outer Rim is Governor Tarkin's territory."

"The Governor is otherwise occupied. He has requested my assistance in establishing Imperial control over the planet."

"Thank you sir. I have no further questions. I will be arriving on schedule."

"Excellent. I have great faith in you, Admiral. You have the greatest talent and resources we can spare at your disposal. I do not care if you are able to fully establish the Empire's control. Just be certain to get those Kyber crystals."

"It will be done."

There was a moment of static, and the viewscreen went black.

"Lieutenant Greev, ETA?" asked Dakken.

"Estimated time of arrival thirty-five minutes, Admiral. Should I tell the _Conqueror_ and the _Righteousness_ to meet us there?"

Dakken began to reply, but cut himself off. Resting his chin in his hand, he thought.

"Negative, there could be a trap. Tell them to make the jump to hyperspace in, say, forty minutes."

"Understood."

Dakken started to return to his seat, but was interrupted.

"Sir, civilian vessel dead ahead," said Ensign Maron.

Admiral Dakken clapped his hands together and smirked.

"Oh good, the welcoming committee!" he said. A few crew members chuckled. "Ensign, contact them. Put them through on audio."

"They appear to have visual capability, sir," she pointed out.

"Huh. Well that's different. All right then, visual. Oh, hold on a minute! Can you play 'Behold the Dawn' over our intercom? Little theme music for them."

"Yes sir." Maron pressed a few buttons.

A proud Imperial anthem began to play.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Taelan, where's my caf?" asked Radd Carkadian. Radd captained the _Leporine Terrapin_ , a bulky Corellian hauler. It wouldn't win any beauty contests, but it did its job. The Corellians always made good stuff. The ship's long, blocky, rectangular forward section connected to an octagonal rear section. The port and starboard sides of the rear section were sealed against the vacuum of space by force fields, and opened onto the _Terrapin_ 's twin docking bays. Each could hold one or two one-person ships or several speeders. Magnetic clamps on the underside of the hull allowed for the transportation of larger vessels. The ship was heavily armoured against blaster fire, large creatures, and asteroids, all of which were common hazards, and possessed a hyperdrive in case a quick escape from a dangerous predicament was needed. Ships broke down or were disabled sometimes, that was a fact. And when that happened, it was Radd's job to retrieve them.

Radd's hands sat on the controls. His right was flesh clad in a worn brown glove. His left was metal. Approximately a third of his body was cybernetic. Radd had been a Jedi once. He was only a child at the time of his injury. He had accompanied his master, Jaaretha Intera, to a military base on Klatooine, where they were to oversee the testing of an experimental weapon, a bomb designed to annihilate all matter in its blast radius. Republic scientists were making the necessary preparations, while clone troopers stood guard over the base and the experiment. That was when Order 66 was executed. A chill went through Jaaretha when she realized that she could no longer feel other Jedi in the Force, and she knew they were in danger. She had yelled at Radd to run, and he did. But he went only a few metres before a clone trooper raised a blaster rifle and shot him. He fell sprawling upon the ground. The clones encircled everyone. Each scientist had a blaster pointed at them; the Jedi, several. Still alive, Radd struggled to his feet, and was marched, limping, to join his master. They were escorted down to the testing ground. Radd was afraid, not because he was certain he was about to die, but because even Master Intera was scared. She was like a mother to him, and she accepted this role, having long been an outspoken opponent of taking potential Jedi from their families at such young ages.

"Remember - they stood too close," the commander said grimly, addressing scientists and fellow soldiers before backing away to safety.

A weapon to her head, a scientist unlocked a protective cover and pushed the button that would detonate the weapon. At the same instant, Jaaretha knelt down before Radd, holding him close protectively, and he hugged her. There was the sound of an explosion, and a flash of light. Most of the bushes and trees around ground zero were gone completely, or else decimated. Of Jaaretha Intera, there was nothing left. Their job done, the clones marched the scientists back to the ships, to be detained for conspiring with the Jedi to overthrow the Republic.

Only their job had not been done. Radd had been shielded from the brunt of the blast. His left leg was gone. His left arm, which had been around Master Intera, was gone. The left portion of his torso, his left lung, and part of his stomach were gone. The left half of his skull was exposed. The sight was horrific. There was no blood, and almost no pain. These parts of him had not been torn or blown away, they had simply ceased to exist. Desperately, he reached out through the Force. He couldn't feel other Jedi. It was empty... so empty... But there was someone coming, yes, somebody coming. He lost consciousness. Kenma Takesch, a priest of the Order of the Source, found him, and was able to use the Force (or Source, as he insisted on calling it) to keep Radd Carkadian's broken body alive until he got the child to a hospital. It took 137 straight hours to repair and rebuild the damage. He should not have survived. But he did.

"Huh?" said Taelan with a yawn.

"Wait, were you just sleeping?"

"Yup."

"Standing up?!"

"Yeah."

Radd shook his head in disbelief. He'd hired Taelan Camran for security. He did repossession work sometimes. That tended to make people angry, and how many times had someone pulled a vibroblade on him? Okay, the answer was never, but it was bound to happen some day. Instead, she mostly did... whatever there wasn't already someone to do. She was a Lyrak, a near-human species. She was very tall and fairly powerfully built, with lime green eyes, light grey skin, black hair, and slightly pointed ears. Radd was sometimes accused of racism for losing patience with her, but he and the crew of the _Terrapin_ knew that it wasn't because she was a Lyrak, it was because she was weird. He was pretty sure members of her species did not usually forget simple requests, fall asleep standing up, or dress as she did, wearing baggy black pants held up by crossed suspenders _and_ a belt, nearly knee-high brown boots into which her pant legs were tucked, a tight shirt, the bottom half grey and the top half red, a comically large yellow-orange vest, and leather gloves with wildly flared wrists.

"I said, did you put a pot of caf on?"

"No, sorry." She turned and shuffled towards the galley.

"Hey," Radd called to her. Taelan turned sleepily. "Get yourself a cup. You need the boost."

"Thanks," she said, managing a smile.

Radd felt badly for her, he really did. They'd all slept on the ship last night while in space, not uncommon. But Taelan had sensitive hearing, and the engine always kept her awake. Though she had many times suggested it, he could not simply shut off the power while in flight. Not unless there was nothing in the docking bays no one would mind being sucked out into space.

He admitted it was hypocritical for him to be concerned about safety while continuing to dress as he did. Radd was tall and of an average build. His blond hair was not exactly neat, and he had a good start on a moustache and a beard, not having shaved for several weeks. One of his blue eyes sat about a millimetre lower than the other. Actually, considering how extensive the skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries had been, it was a miracle he looked as good as he did. He wore a sturdy brown leather glove and boot, a pale green shirt and a loose sand-coloured tunic. He wore close-fitting black pants and, against the advice of many and perhaps even against good sense, a Jedi robe.

Radd considered himself to be a Jedi, even though it was a priest of the Order of the Source who had been training him for the past twenty years, and he had been with the Jedi Order for only nine. He felt he owed it to Master Intera to finish what she had started, and that, at this point, the galaxy needed as many Jedi as it could get. He'd built his own lightsaber and everything - Valoccar Prime was rich with Kyber crystals beneath the surface, and was a hotspot for geologists wanting to study the unique crystal caves.

But there was no Jedi Temple there, and no Jedi Masters, and his life from around age ten onward had been relatively normal. The only unusual attention the robe attracted was from people advising him against wearing it, nothing more. There was no Empire out here. His attire wasn't going to draw any trouble.

"Ah, lad? Can you take a look right here and tell me what that is?" asked Kenma Takesch, his mentor and co-pilot, pointing out the window.

Despite his unusual name, Kenma was human. Only his culture was alien. His parents had been in the Order of the Source as well, and it was traditional for children of adherents to be named in the language of the Order's Callosian founders. He was an old man, but in good shape. He had a full beard, and long grey hair with streaks of white kept under a large purple turban. His amber eyes reflected as much vitality as they had in his youth. He wore a magenta robe with green-trimmed sleeves, tied with a red sash. His shirt was bright yellow, and his pants bright green - on the whole, an extremely colourful, lively outfit. He was wearing sandals, but usually preferred to be barefoot. Members of his religion also bore lightsabers, but they were all produced by the same individual, and were of amateur construction. It was unlikely that one would function very well in combat - they were intended primarily for ceremonial use. All of them glowed the same turquoise shade.

Radd looked to where the old man pointed. The silhouette of the _Quasar_ was drifting into view, slowly obscuring sight of Valoccar's sun. He shuddered. His smile drooped, his jaw hung, the colour drained from his face.

Kenma nodded slowly. "That's what I was afraid of."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A white light pulsed on the _Terrapin_ 's viewscreen. The shadow of the _Quasar_ darkened the cockpit, causing the emergency lights with their faint bluish tinge to flicker to life.

"Are you going to answer?" asked Kenma, nodding towards the screen.

"Yeah," Radd muttered. It was plain to see his mind was far away, as was his gaze. "Yeah, put them through."

Kenma pressed a button, and an image popped onto the screen. Farek Dakken's face appeared, beaming broadly. "Behold the Dawn" played in the background.

"Greetings, civilian. Do you represent Valoccar Prime?"

"Rex? Rex Dakken? What are you doing on that big ugly ship in that ridiculous uniform?"

Radd had known Farek, or Rex, as he'd been nicknamed, in his childhood. The two had been good friends for a long time. He'd gone to school with all the other neighbourhood children, just like anyone. Farek Dakken, Tam Dexum, Candro Roosh, Kalingun, Ty-Ali Pan, he'd had quite a circle of friends. Ah, but what was the name of that girl he'd been sweet on? Mara Starfall? Zanah Sunset? Nah, but something like that. It was a pretty name, he remembered that.

But eventually most of them went away. The Empire's territory was always expanding, and most of their parents had decided they wanted to live where they knew the government would remain stable, and for their children to be on the winning team. Of his friends who had left, Farek had been the last, and he had departed of his own volition. He had asked... Saara? No, that wasn't it... to go with him. And she had gone. Radd had always feared there was something between those two, but had put it down to the fear of loss that comes with attachment. But as far as he was concerned, his suspicions had been confirmed that day.

"It's Admiral Dakken, now. So, Mr. Carkadian, do you represent the people down there?"

"It's CAPTAIN Carkadian now. And yeah, I suppose about as much as anyone."

"Oh, am I supposed to be calling you that?" asked Taelan, standing behind Radd.

Radd turned around and stared at her with a tired expression.

"No, Taelan."

"Oh. Okay." She walked away.

"Nice crew you have there," Dakken remarked. "Now then, on to the matter at hand-"

"Would you turn that crap off? It's hard to listen with that march playing. What is it with you Imperials and marches?" Radd interrupted.

Admiral Dakken made a small wave of his hand. He nodded approvingly when the music stopped, and turned back to the screen.

"Well then, 'Captain' Carkadian, I'm sure you will be pleased to learn that your planet is the site of the Empire's latest natural resource harvesting project. Would you be so kind as to direct us to your capital, so that we might set in order a few arrangements?"

"Funny thing, 'Admiral' Dakken, I don't recall the Empire having any authority out here, and I don't think you recall that either."

"Perhaps you ought to double-check, then. I'm sure you'll find that we have a claim on this region of space."

"You're a little late to the party," Radd said, allowing himself to laugh, "There's been a claim on this planet for at least a few hundred years, last time I checked."

"A claim I doubt anyone is about to enforce. That clunky old thing of yours doesn't even have any weapons, does it?"

"Watch it," snarked Radd, "that 'old thing' has a lightsaber!" He pointed at Kenma, who rolled his eyes.

"Let's get this over with, shall we? Why don't you just take us to your people, we'll get what we've come for, we'll leave you in peace?"

Kenma made an obscene gesture to the screen. This gave Radd an idea. He made a small gesture with two fingers.

"You are not in the right place. You should return to base and recalculate your route."

"Lieutenant Greev, turn us about. We're not in the right place. We should head back to base and recalculate the route. No, belay that. Bet I fooled you there. Radd, you bantha brain, do you know how many times you've tried that on me? Now come on, there's only one way this can go. We're going to set up our mining operation."

"At the risk of sounding cliché, you and what army? All I see is that giant target you're in. What are you compensating for, Rex?"

"At the risk of sounding cliché, this one!" Dakken paused dramatically, but nothing happened. "They'll be here in a while. In the meantime…" he gestured to Ensign Maron, "there's this one." The screen switched to a view of the _Quasar_ 's hangar bay, where over a hundred TIE fighters sat at the ready. "And this one." A view of what must have been a thousand troops, all in formation. "Or maybe this one, which I requested specially. Meet Inquisitor Kayn, Agent Nightfall, and Agent Taro Drunma." The screen switched yet again.

Radd and Kenma shuddered. The presence of the dark side was so strongly felt it was nearly suffocating. Kayn already felt them, and was staring directly at the camera. He could feel them, they knew it. He was wearing a black robe, which flapped as if there was wind inside the ship... and as if there was nothing underneath. Beneath the hood, a blood-red skull stared back at them, stared with glowing yellow eyes. This was an ominous figure, strong in the dark side of the Force.

Nightfall was an imposing figure. She was clad from head to toe in storm-grey armour with purple detail. Only the stylized contours of the armour indicated her gender. She wore a purple mantled cape and hood over a decidedly unfriendly-looking helmet, a narrow lens in the shape of a shallow, downward-facing chevron allowing her to see. Beneath it were three similar smaller slits for breathing. A cat-sized spider sat calmly at her feet. This was a dangerous hunter who knew her trade.

If Nightfall was frightening, Taro Drunma was absolutely menacing. He was a towering brute, clad entirely in heavy red armour. It was not the detail of the armour that was so unsettling, but the lack of it, which spoke absolutely nothing about its wearer beyond his considerable size. Each of his gauntleted, four-fingered hands could easily palm a human head. This was a savage beast, almost drooling as he waited for a chance to kill.

"I, uh, think I see your point," said Radd nervously. "Can you give us one minute?"

"Take your time," Dakken said with a smile. Radd turned off the screen.

"Ideas?" he asked, turning to Kenma.

"Why don't we warn the military?" Taelan asked.

"That's our only hope," the old man said, "but there's no time. That ship will arrive long before they could mobilize the fleet."

"Maybe we could stall them," she proposed.

"How? If we're delaying them, we're not warning our people."

"No," said Radd, "I think she's on to something. Kenma, when I give you the signal, start heading for Valoccar IV, but put Valoccar Prime into the hyperspace computer."

"I don't know what you have in mind lad, but I trust you know what you're doing."

Radd turned the screen back on.

"Ah, good," said the admiral. "I trust you've made the obvious decision."

"Actually, I don't really represent the people too well, we have a broken-down ship to pick up, your troops are programmed to kill Jedi like me, you know how it is. I'm sure you can find your way. It's the city with all the people. Anyway, it was nice running into you, Rex."

"Very well," Admiral Dakken replied, smiling mirthlessly. "You may go on your way."

Radd shut the screen off - but deliberately left the audio on. He nodded to his co-pilot.

"All right, just fly casual. Not that casual! Head for Valoccar IV and get ready to make the jump to hyperspace on my signal. If we can alert the fleet now, they might be able to set up an ambush by the time the Imperials are leaving."

Kenma pointed the _Terrapin_ towards the far side of the solar system and started in the direction of Valoccar IV.

"I don't think they're following, Radd."

"Perfect, make the jump to hyperspace!"

There was a flash, and the _Leporine Terrapin_ vanished. Radd switched off the audio communication system.

"Their fleet? We're in luck!" said Admiral Dakken. "Set in a course for Valoccar IV. Subluminal velocity. There's no rush." He shook his head. "Radd, what a clumsy fool you are."

"Course laid in, Admiral," said Lieutenant Greev.

"Inform the _Righteousness_ and _Conqueror_. Have them meet us there. These people have sealed their fate."

Admiral Dakken took his seat and leaned back. He pointed out the window.

"Engage."

The _Quasar_ turned about and started towards its new destination.

On the other side of the planet, the _Leporine Terrapin_ dropped out of hyperspace.

"Good," said Kenma, "they're moving off. Smart thinking. To Pallah City?"

"What do you think?" Radd said sarcastically.

"I think that's a good idea," Taelan said. The other two turned to stare at her.

"Well, you heard her," said Radd.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The ship landed back at the repair station. The crew disembarked, Radd, Father Kenma, Taelan, and RJ 4T4, the mechanic droid. RJ 4T4 stood guard by the ship. A man in green pants and a purple jacket ran up.

"Did you fix it?"

"You'll have to excuse me, Mr. Ran-Cha, urgent business," Radd said.

"Did you even pick it up yet?"

"Yeah, yeah. Later, Gheri, there's an invasionary force on the way here."

"Did you repair my ship or not?!"

"NO!" Radd yelled. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

Kenma waved his hand.

"You'll stay out of our way."

"I'll just stay out of your way," Gheri said.

"You'll wait by the ship and not touch anything."

"I'll wait by your ship and not touch anything," he repeated. He obeyed immediately.

"Thanks," Radd sighed. "I was not in the mood to deal with that."

"We'll work on that later."

"His ship or my temper?"

"Both. Now let's find a speeder."

"With room for three, right?" Taelan asked nervously.

"No, we're leaving you here," Radd said.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, I guess that makes sense, I mean, it'd be harder to find one big enough, and the extra weight would slow you down, and -"

"Taelan," Radd interrupted, "that was a joke."

"Any chance you could save it for when the planet isn't in danger?" asked Kenma.

They hurried down to ground level and to a parking area. A Rodian family of four, a man and woman and their son and daughter, had just come out of a shop, and were about to get back into their speeder.

"Wait!" Radd called. They did not respond. "Hey!" Still no response. "I don't think they speak Basic."

«Hold on, folks!» Taelan called in the Rodian language. The family turned.

«What is the matter?»

«We need to borrow your speeder. The Empire is coming, and we must warn the military.»

The eyes of the adults went wide.

«Empire?! Take it! Go! We'll catch another ride.»

«Thank you!» Taelan said. «And don't worry, we will return it to you as soon as we can.»

The male Rodian bowed respectfully, and the family walked off.

"Whatever I might say to you, you know I'm only joking," Radd told her. "You are a lifesaver!"

They climbed into the speeder and started it up. The vehicle lifted off the ground, and, with Radd at the controls, took off at a great speed. Kenma sat in the passenger seat, Taelan in the back. Radd was confident as he weaved and swooped to avoid local traffic. The Force enhanced his senses and reaction time, so what seemed like near-misses to most were to him just normal passing manoeuvres. His passengers seemed to disagree.

"Slow down, you fool!" snapped Kenma. His panic was obvious.

"Can't slow down, no time!"

"Well pull up, then!" Taelan yelled.

Radd sighed, but pulled back sharply on the control column. The speeder pitched upward, then leveled off well above other traffic. The Pallah Defence Base wasn't far away. In fact, it was already distantly visible. But Radd didn't see it. He was too busy glancing to the sky, fearing that his ruse had failed, that at any moment a hundred TIE fighters would come down from the sky and rain destruction upon the entire city. The speeder drifted to the left and scraped against a high sign.

"Blast!" Kenma yelled. He grabbed the control column and turned it sharply to the right. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" stuttered Radd, snapping to attention. "I'll get Forty to fix that."

"Forty? I thought we called him RJ," Taelan said.

"Nah, he's been... in a mood lately. It's 'Forty' for now. He's the one who's always playing that awful music at night - or did you think that was me?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Radd, he asked me to ask you if you could give him a black paint job," Kenma told him.

"Let me think no," Radd said without pausing. "He gets like this sometimes, ignore him."

"You might think about getting him reprogrammed," suggested Kenma.

"Nah, he still does his job, it's just who he is. He'll get over it."

"If you say so," Taelan said. She was unconvinced. "So uh, are we going to fly right in or land outside?"

Radd's eyes widened. He only now realized that he hadn't thought about that, and they were coming up to the base right now. He decided upon the second option.

As they walked to the entrance, a Wookiee walked out to meet them. He was very tall, although not unusually so for his species. His fur was a dark brown mixed with traces of silver. His build was unusually slender, though just as muscular as usual. He wore the tan skirt-like garment and fur cape of a Valoccaran Wookiee elder.

Valoccar had had a significant population of Wookiees since before humans began to inhabit the planet. A radically different environment and untold years of separation meant that their culture bore very little resemblance to that of Wookiees on Kashyyyk.

He marched right up to Radd. The two paused, mere inches from the other. Radd craned his neck upward to meet his gaze, utterly unflinching. There was a prolonged pause, and any outsider would think a fight was imminent. Instead, Radd broke the silence by throwing back his head and bellowing a short series of growls and howls. The Wookiee threw his own head back.

"Heh-roooh," he said, approximating the Basic greeting as best he was able.

"Hello, Argaachuk," Kenma said with a smile.

Radd and Argaachuk had been friends for a few years, and out of mutual respect each had learned the other's language. It was impossible, of course, for either to actually speak the other's tongue, but they could understand each other clearly, and had managed to learn how to greet each other, within their own abilities of pronunciation.

"Argaachuk," Radd said, "we need you to let us in. We need to warn everybody and get a defence force ready. The Empire's going to invade. We sent them on a wild kowak chase, but they'll realize soon enough."

Argaachuk nodded enthusiastically, and ushered them in through the gate.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"That traitorous SWINE!" Dakken hissed. The _Quasar_ was in orbit around Valoccar IV... where, it was worth noting, there was no fleet, no army, and no sentient population whatsoever. He grabbed his cap, which he never wore anyway, from the armrest of his chair and heaved it to the floor. "Lieutenant! Take us out of orbit! Get us back to Valoccar Prime immediately!"

"Hyperspace, admiral?"

"Of course!"

Greev was frightened. He had never before seen such a temper from Admiral Dakken. His hands were less than steady as he put in the coordinates. Far less than steady, indeed. A slip of the finger, and he put in a three where a two should have been, and didn't notice the error. The _Quasar_ made the jump... and came out in an asteroid field.

Dakken's eyes went wide as a particularly large asteroid headed directly for the bridge.

"Full stop!" he screamed. "Full stop!"

Greev slammed a button. The ship had barely begun to decelerate, and swung wildly as the braking thrusters fired to life, almost as if it were sliding on ice. The asteroid that had been heading for the viewport flew harmlessly by, but at the same time the port side of the out-of-control vessel slammed sideways into numerous asteroids. Impacts rocked the ship and the lights went out. It slowed as it careened, finally coming to a stop.

Admiral Dakken didn't speak. He just picked himself up and stood looking back and forth, his arms slightly out from his body with his palms forward, plainly seeking an explanation. There was no longer any anger in his face. His expression was absolutely blank.

"A-apolog-gies, A-Admiral Dakken, s-sir. I - I'm afraid I put the coordinates in incorrectly," the lieutenant stammered.

Dakken stared, still expressionless. But everyone could feel his stony demeanour turning to bubbling magma, magma which was rising, building in pressure, building up to a devastating eruption which was destined to come at any second. But Dakken didn't erupt. Nothing exploded. The magma cooled and hardened again. He shut his eyes and drew a deep breath.

"An easy mistake to make, Lieutenant." He turned to address the entire bridge crew. "Always, always double-check your input." Everyone nodded slowly, except for Lieutenant Greev. He was staring absently at a spot somewhere on the floor. If he had had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs. In the dim light, Dakken walked down from the command walkway to the crew pit where Ensign Maron sat. He massaged his temples. "Lianna, what's the damage?"

"All non-essential systems offline. Propulsion systems offline. Weapons offline. Shields and computers on secondary power. No hull breaches. No casualties reported."

"Is the intercom operational?"

"I can switch it to secondary power in a moment."

"Make it so. Then tell the repair teams where they need to go." He raised his voice. "In the meantime, everyone take a break. We aren't going anywhere for a while. All dismissed."

As Maron worked to reroute some power to make the necessary calls, the rest of the bridge crew stood and began to mill aimlessly in the general direction of the turbolift. The first officer to get to it was also the first to remember that it was offline, deflecting his course to take the long way off the bridge. The rest followed the same path, as if this were some sort of strange ritual or as if they were confused ants. Admiral Dakken was the only one thinking clearly enough to take a direct route as he headed down to the lower regions of the massive _Executor_ -class dreadnaught. As they were going to be delayed, he might as well have a word with the troops.

"Attention!" Dakken called. The stormtroopers turned to face him, standing at attention, the single sound of their simultaneous footfalls satisfying. They were not neatly in formation, a fact he was quite willing to overlook. All had been jostled by the asteroid impacts, and many had panicked or staggered about in confusion when the lights went out. He gazed down upon them over the railing of a small balcony which overlooked the hangar bay. "We will-" he began, before recalling that the microphone mounted on the railing had no power. He raised his voice to a powerful yell. "We will be experiencing a minor delay! But do not fear! Even as we speak, our comrades aboard the _Conqueror_ and the _Righteousness_ will be arriving in orbit around Valoccar! Ready yourselves, for these people do not know our glory! They are fed lies, and propaganda! Lies from which I myself had once to break free! We must show them the truth that is the glory of the Empire! They will not acquiesce! They will not readily accept the truth! But the Empire is an unstoppable force, and they are no immovable object! We will prevail! The age is upon us where the great and righteous Empire shall rule all the galaxy! Do not fear this new era, but rise up and BEHOLD THE DAWN!"

The hundreds of soldiers below him cheered and saluted. As he returned their salute, Dakken breathed a sigh of contentment. It would have been nice if the engines had started up and the lights had come on right as he finished his speech, but you couldn't have everything. He nodded and turned, walking to the room where his "specialists" waited. It just now occurred to him that for all his saluting, proud stance, and enthusiastic gesticulation, most of the soldiers probably hadn't been able to see him from afar and in the dark.

He came to the room and found the door closed. He hesitated a moment before knocking. There was a pause.

"ENTER," rang the voice of Kayn. It was a cold voice with a certain… _hollow_ quality. The most disturbing part was that its sound had no direction, no source. It sounded to come from everywhere yet nowhere in particular. Hearing its sound felt like gazing into an echoing bottomless black abyss, from the limitless depths of which a cold wind blew.

Dakken tried the door.

"Power's off," he reminded them. There was another pause, and the door slid open. He stepped through. "Thank you, Inquisitor Kayn."

"You know my true name, Farek Dakken."

"You are Inquisitor Kayn, a prominent member of the Inquisitorius. You are an invaluable asset to the Empire, particularly for the purpose of hunting Jedi."

"Look at me, Farek Dakken. You know what I am. You see what I am, don't you? Yes, I see it in you. Now, what is my name? SPEAK."

"Our records claim that you were once known as… as Darth Veneficus."

"There it is. Why do you deny me the name that is my right?"

"Because Darth Veneficus no longer exists. There are two Sith, and there are always two. There cannot be three."

"The Rule of Two. Just another part of the illusion of order in this reality. Only two there have never long been. But you are not wrong on one count, Farek Dakken. There are not three - there are five."

"Who - who are the others?"

"A colleague of mine… and my master," Veneficus hissed in a more sinister tone than usual.

"Your master, Kayn, is dead. He was killed years ago."

Darth Veneficus laughed, a terrible sound.

"Ahh, but Farek Dakken, so was I."

Dakken shuddered and averted his gaze from the hideous grinning skeletal face of the former Sith. He turned to Nightfall, someone he felt rather more comfortable addressing. That spider gave him the creeps, though, and unfortunately she had refused to board without it.

"You know, I trust, why I requested all of you."

"Some Sith-wannabe or a rogue Jedi needs to be taken out of the picture before they can get in the way, I'm guessing," she replied.

"Not quite. Not a rogue Jedi, but the regular kind. You are Jedi hunters after all, it's about time someone found some work for you." He took a small holoprojector out of his pocket and activated it. A small rotating, transparent blue image of Radd flickered to life. "Radd Carkadian, Jedi knight, and your main target. Erroneously listed in Imperial records as deceased until I set the record straight. Not especially dangerous, but armed, force-sensitive, and intelligent. Use caution. You may kill him or take him prisoner, whichever is your wish. Agent Drunma, I can guess what you're planning on." Taro Drunma thumped his armoured chest twice. "Just get rid of him, one way or another. And watch out for this man." He pressed a button, and the image changed to that of Kenma. "This is Father Kenma Takesch, an ally of Radd Carkadian. As a priest of the Order of the Source, he is not, I repeat _not_ , listed as an enemy of the Empire. Do not take any hostile action towards him unless it is in self defence. If he is harmed, I WILL expect a report on the incident." He narrowed his eyes at Drunma, who did not meet his eye. "Avoid hostilities towards other civilians if at all possible."

The lights flickered back to life, accompanied by the whirring of machinery starting up again.

"Be ready," said Dakken with a smirk, "I suspect you'll be deploying very shortly."

Darth Veneficus drifted out of the room, and though he took smooth, fluid strides, as in walking, drifting was the only word to describe the movement. It was as though he floated out upon a wintry breeze. Taro Drunma lumbered out behind him with substantially less grace. As Nightfall started to leave, she turned to Admiral Dakken.

"Are you certain that lethal force is necessary, Admiral Dakken? Radd could be very valuable to the Empire if captured." Her voice was lightly modulated by the helmet she wore.

Dakken looked her dead in the eye, an uncomfortably calm expression on his face. It looked like the calm before a storm. His hand shot out and grabbed her chin, tilting her head up towards him. Her tarantula reared up with a hissing sound, but Nightfall held out her palm, and the animal backed down.

"If that's how you feel," the admiral said softly, "then I suggest you get to him before Kayn or Drunma does, Darkrise." He released her sharply.

"That's not my name, sir."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The crisis sirens were sounding. It was an eerie sound, loud, haunting, echoing. It was like a mechanical howl or wail. Radd had heard the sirens only once before. Then it had been a false alarm. A notorious criminal had set them off, sending everyone scrambling for secure shelter at or below ground level, and the crook had taken the opportunity to rob a major bank. Unfortunately for him, the bank's armed guards had taken shelter in the vault, and he was swiftly arrested.

Now, the threat was very real, and most civilians had hastened to safe locations. Radd and his crew stood with Argaachuk near the command centre.

"In response to the reported threat of an Imperial invasion force, we have dispatched a small division of fighters for the purpose of reconnaissance. Thank you, Mr. Carkadian. You have the gratitude of the people for this timely warning. Is there anything further you can tell us about the incoming force?" asked General Randan.

"We encountered a Super Star Destroyer. I don't know if you've seen one before, but they're massive. We're talking nineteen kilometres in length."

"I'm sorry, nineteen KILOMETRES?" the general interrupted. Her purple Rodian eyes went wider than usual.

"Yeah, and it takes several thousand people to operate one. There were empty seats on the bridge, so I suspect it's flying with a skeleton crew. They have between one hundred and one hundred fifty TIE fighters at the ready, about a thousand soldiers, and enough dropships to deploy about two hundred at a time. Want my advice, target those when they land. You won't have too much to worry about from troops they can't get in ships or on the ground. The Imperial admiral - who's Rex Dakken by the way, know him? - mentioned more vessels coming, but he wasn't more specific. They've also brought an Inquisitor and two special agents, but I don't think you'll be bothered by them. I think they're here for me."

"If what you say is accurate, a vessel of such scale - and presumably power - shall take the majority of our fleet if we're to have any hope of destroying it. This is troubling, though. We have no data on Super Star Destroyers, and so lack understanding of how to combat it. We should make an attempt to capture an Imperial who will be able to provide us with more information."

"What should we do in the meantime, General?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, do what you will. But be careful Mr. Carkadian. From what I understand, the Empire is not fond of Jedi."

"Yeah, I got that impression when he showed they'd brought three people for the express purpose of killing Jedi. That considered, I don't imagine I'm particularly safe anywhere. In that case, any way I can help?"

General Randan consulted with the other officers for a moment, then turned to Radd, nodding slowly.

"Mr. Carkadian, I don't suppose your ship has any armaments?"

"Afraid not. Not a lot of need for them."

"Okay, this may still work. I understand it is very heavily armoured, is that correct?"

"Oh, there's no doubt about that. Why?"

"Do you suppose it could withstand turbolaser fire?"

"Probably. Got hit by a solar flare once, and one time we drifted through an asteroid field in our sleep and didn't die. So maybe. Again, why?"

"This Super Star Destroyer you describe does not yet appear to be in orbit. Your diversion seems to have delayed its arrival more than expected. Our best hope of defeating it when it appears is to get troops on board, but I fear our fighter craft would not get close enough to board without being destroyed by the array of weapons we believe the destroyer to possess. But your vessel may stand a chance. If you took some fighters on board, you might be able to get close enough to allow them to insert."

"I'm liking this plan. What kind of fighter craft are you thinking of?"

"X-Wings and Y-Wings, mostly."

Radd pictured the size of the docking bays for a moment.

"I can probably take three. Would be four, but I've got a broken-down civilian ship I can't really move."

"So you will help us, then?"

"Sure thing."

"Excellent. Bring your ship over this base's airspace. One Y-Wing and two X-Wings will meet you to be brought aboard. It will be up to you from there how you go about this. I'll send you the signal frequency you'll need to contact us."

"Thank you, ma'am. Be back shortly. Argaachuk, stay safe out there bud."

Argaachuk brought his fist to his opposite shoulder, a traditional Valoccaran Wookiee salute. Radd, Kenma, and Taelan left at a jog.

There was no traffic this time, and the _Leporine Terrapin_ came into view after only a couple of minutes.

"Oh, for the love of the Source," Kenma grumbled as Radd swooped in to land. Gheri Ran-Cha was still waiting by the ship, not touching anything.

"You've got to be kidding," Taelan agreed. They landed. "Uh, Gheri? You hear that siren, don't you?"

"Yes, and I'm anxious to get somewhere safe. But I was waiting here for… for… for something. It might be important. I'm sure it'll come to me."

An increasingly loud noise came from the sky. They looked up and saw a TIE fighter coming down from the sky. One wing was smoking. It struck the street between buildings a few blocks away and exploded.

"You know, you never see small craft like that damaged or disabled. They're always either fine or they just completely blow up," Radd remarked.

"Here's an idea," Kenma said, "instead of making observations, why don't we get out of here because the fighting's obviously started and we don't want to get blown to Malachor standing here?"

Radd turned to Gheri.

"Just get on the ship. Everyone, just get on the ship. Gheri, you can… I don't know. Sit in the rec room and just-"

"Just don't touch anything, yes, yes."

The _Terrapin_ lifted off the landing pad. As it rose into the air and turned in the direction of the base, Taelan spied another damaged TIE fighter coming into view. This one was leaning fiercely, but was beginning to straighten out.

"Go, go!" she urged.

"This is not how I was planning to spend my day," Radd grumbled. He took off as quickly as was possible, but the _Terrapin_ 's great mass and less-than-aerodynamic design made it relatively slow in the atmosphere. The fighter was in hot pursuit, but swung from side to side as it struggled to regain stability. Several shots flew past. A few connected, and were felt by the crew of the _Terrapin_ as they were lightly jostled. Radd began to swerve to try to avoid the shots.

"You're doing this, and you think we'll survive turbolasers?" Taelan snapped.

"I don't want him to hit the engines!"

"Why do you assume it's a him?" Gheri asked.

Radd whirled about in surprise.

"Didn't I tell you to go sit in the rec room?"

"I did, but when I started being thrown from one side of the room to the other, I wondered if the captain of this clunky piece of junk - which I don't imagine meets safety codes, by the way - hadn't become suicidal!"

"Okay," Radd said, his voice soft but audibly irritated. "Taelan, please escort Mr. Ran-Cha to the brig."

"Since when do we have a -" Kenma started, but cut off when another shot rocked the ship. "Since when do we have a brig?"

"Just make him go away. I can't fly like this."

"Okay," Taelan said. "Umm, Mr. Ran-Cha, would you please go away?"

Gheri had to look up, for she was about twenty centimetres taller than him. Despite her size, he was visibly unfazed.

"If I'm going to die on this thing, I want to see it coming. But thanks for asking."

"Tough," Radd said.

"Look Gheri," Taelan said, "Radd's a bit cranky right now. We're in a bad spot here, and he isn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now. Why don't you go to the galley and get him a snack? You can get yourself something, too. That'll keep you away from him for a bit, and he's generally in a better mood when he isn't hungry."

"Well, fine," Gheri replied. "If you insist."

Taelan rolled her eyes.

"I insist."

Gheri left, grumbling. Radd looked over his shoulder at Taelan.

"Your idea of getting an unwanted guest out of the cockpit is to tell him to eat my food and for you to call me cranky? Remind me why I hired you?"

"Everyone else wanted you to pay them."

"Oh. Yeah…"

Another blast hit the ship. This time, it rocked substantially and began to slow. A red light flashed on the control panel. Kenma rose and vaulted over his seat. For his age, he was strikingly nimble. He sprinted towards the engine room at the very back of the ship. He pushed a button, and the door slid open. A panel displaying the engine status lay straight ahead. The indicator light was red. He sighed and climbed the ladder that went up to the engine room's top level. He sidled along the catwalk (he needed to remind Radd to install some railings) until he came to the primary redirection switch. He let out a deep breath before hauling up on the heavy metal lever. There was a satisfying click, but the damaged engines did not roar back to life. Grumbling, he swung around and slid down the ladder. The display was yellow now.

"Well, ain't that just lovely," he said to himself. He climbed up to the middle level and threw the secondary redirection switch. It was a truly pleasurable sensation to hear the affected engines coming back on. This time he allowed himself to drop down to the floor. It was only two metres. Green. Finally. He jogged back to the cockpit. "Everything's online, but if we take another hit like that, we're going down."

"Oh," said Radd, "perfect!"

"We have to get him - or her…" Taelan looked around, but Gheri didn't appear to be nearby, "... off our tail. Maybe we can turn around and ram them or something."

"They'll probably be able to out-manoeuvre us, but it's worth a shot."

Radd banked the _Terrapin_ into a sharp turn to starboard. It swooped around in a full circle. The TIE fighter attempted to replicate the manoeuvre, but its damaged state sent it swooping at too wide of an angle, and it sped off to quite some distance from its target.

"Huh. Opposite problem," Radd remarked.

The TIE fighter came around, aimed the _Terrapin_ 's side, firing wildly.

"Oh boy…" Kenma said. It was plain that the pilot meant to plow right into them. They braced for impact. They were rocked, but not from a collision. Instead, what they felt was the shockwave from the TIE fighter exploding. A light flashed on the communications system. Radd answered it.

"Afternoon, Radd. You fellas having some trouble?" The communication was coming from one of the X-Wings hovering over Pallah Defence Base. Audio only.

"Heya, Flash. Nothing I can't handle."

"Funny, there's a lot of smoke coming from your rear."

"Funny, there's a lot of bad attitude coming from your mouth."

Flash Nadela laughed.

"So, you our ride?"

"I suppose I am. Who else have we got here?"

"Just me, Andor C'Thrux, and Yibthub Nithab."

"Who, did you say? That last one?"

"Don't make me try to pronounce it right. Besides, you don't know them."

"Load up, then, and then we can get this party started!"

A short time later, the _Terrapin_ 's engines fired, and it arced up into the sky and out of sight.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Radd left Kenma to fly while he went back to meet with the pilots. He grinned as he pulled Flash into a one-armed hug. He made a point to use his right arm. Feeling the cold metal of the left one freaked some people out.

Flash Nadela was human. He had dark skin, which made his broad, white smile, for which he was nicknamed, stand out all the more. Flash was not his real name, though few people knew that. He was called that because he was always "flashing" his winning grin to people.

Andor C'Thrux was a Whiphid. He was tall and muscular, almost as broad as he was high. His unusual height was made only slightly less apparent by his hunched posture, characteristic of his species. His helmet was completely custom, necessitated by his massive head and long, flat face. Radd knew him pretty well. He was the guy you wanted to have helping you out if there was heavy lifting to be done. He played a good game of dejarik, too.

Yibthub Nithab was a Cordeth, a species Radd had never seen before. They were genderless, and had a head shaped like a downward-pointing triangle, with two large almond-shaped red eyes and no apparent mouth or nose. Their skin was green and shiny. Yibthub's shape was roughly humanoid, but only by choice. From their head hung hundreds of smooth, muscular tentacles, which were tensed and wrapped to simulate humanoid features. For the sake of freedom and comfort, they did not wear the same green, fire-resistant flight suit as the other two. Radd wanted to introduce himself, but wasn't sure if a handshake would be appropriate for a species that didn't have hands. He also wasn't sure how he'd react if their skin turned out to be slimy, which it looked to be, but he couldn't tell for certain.

"Uh, hi," Radd said.

"Hello, Mr. Carkadian. It is my pleasure to meet you," Yibthub replied. Their voice came from the underside of their head, at the base of their tentacles. They extended a makeshift hand. Radd shook it. Surprisingly, their skin was smooth, warm, and dry.

"You're not slimy." Radd took a second to realize he'd said that out loud. "I mean, of course you're not. Not that there's anything wrong if you are. But you're not, I mean, of course people like you aren't. Your species, that is. Unless some of you are. I mean-"

Kenma had come up behind him.

"Radd, shut up."

Radd turned to him.

"Yeah, that'd be best. Uh, sorry."

"Your assessment is accurate. No apology is necessary." Yibthub's voice suggested neither offence nor sarcasm. Which actually made the moment a bit _more_ awkward.

"So, you all know the game plan?"

"From what I gather, you fly us right up underneath the biggest ship when it comes, we launch and head for its hangar bay if we can or cargo bay if we can't. Get on board. Try to corner someone who'll know how to take the thing down. If we can't, just do as much damage as possible. Try not to be seen," Flash said.

Radd smirked and pointed a finger.

"You got it."

"Nice. What do I win?"

"Just one moment." Radd turned to Kenma. "Who's flying the ship?"

"Taelan is." He saw the panicked expression that appeared on Radd's face. "Radd, we aren't even moving. The flagship hasn't even turned up yet, so let's just hang back. I promise she won't try to land us on every moon she sees."

"Oh no no. No. You know the rule. We don't let her fly."

"But what's the worst that can happen?"

"Unless you take back the controls, we'll probably find out."

Though he rarely acted the age he was, the level of the elderly priest's grumbling as he left was quite appropriate. Radd turned back to the pilots, now with a more serious expression.

"Now Flash, I don't know if someone's told you yet, but… the captain of that ship…"

"Yeah?"

"So you haven't heard?"

Flash shook his head, a bit impatient with Radd's less-than-direct line of questioning.

"It's Rex. Rex Dakken."

"Oh." Flash looked at his feet. "I, uh, I see." He looked back up. "Do you think we'll have to…"

"I hope not." Radd shrugged. "I definitely don't _want_ to. Guess we'll see how this goes."

"What kind of force can we use if we run into trouble?" Andor asked.

"Do what you have to do," Radd answered. "They're clones. They're made as soldiers. And they've acted pretty mindless since… since whatever all of _that was_ …" he shifted his left foot and rolled his left shoulder as if they ached, "... so don't feel too badly about it."

"I have completed repairs on Mr. Ran-Cha's ship, for whatever it is worth. One day it will be at its end, irreparable. As will I."

Radd twisted, surprised. "Thank you, Forty."

"Have you considered my request?" asked the mechanic droid.

"Yes. And no."

"I should have predicted this response. I do not know what I perceived to be the point of asking. Or the point of anything." RJ 4T4 slunk back to the starboard docking bay, either to put himself in standby mode or to contemplate the unending torment that was his deathless existence. Radd's face flushed with embarrassment as he turned back to the pilots.

"Uh… you probably should ignore him," Radd advised. Andor's mouth opened about a centimetre, the Whiphid equivalent of a grin, and he nodded in mock solemnity. Taelan ran into the room, bumping her head on the top of the door frame in her rush.

"Ow. You'd better get out here. They're here."

Radd nodded to the pilots. They nodded back and hastened to their fighters.

"Wait, who's here?" asked Gheri Ran-Cha, stepping around a corner.

"Don't suppose you were eavesdropping," Radd said with a sigh.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Do you suppose we should contact them, give them a last warning to turn back? Just so we can say we tried, for our own peace of mind," Kenma suggested.

"Yeah," Radd half laughed, "I'm sure they'd be real threatened by us. Seriously though, better we don't draw unnecessary attention." He manoeuvred the _Terrapin_ so that the pilots in the port docking bay could see the _Quasar._ He spoke now into the comm panel. "Have a good view of that, boys? _That's_ what we're up against."

"And I thought the normal ones were big!" the voice of Flash exclaimed.

"To refer to me as a boy is inaccurate," Yibthub said.

"I see less than a blind Bith up the business end of a -" Andor began.

"I get the picture!" Radd interrupted, swooping in a half circle so Andor could see.

"Well paint me blue and tell me it's kriffin' snowing! I think I just wet myself."

Radd had to laugh. His old pal was unquestionably the best at spontaneously coming out with frequently vulgar, occasionally quite humourous, and always nonsensical expressions.

"Best hope not," Flash said "You think it's easy for them to make pants in your size?"

"Hey, watch it!" the Whiphid replied.

"Enough nonsense," said the voice of General Dano Randan, though her tone was not without amusement. "Mr. Carkadian, we expect that they will deploy their complement of TIE fighters first, not only to engage our fleet, but to clear a corridor for their dropships, which they will presumably deploy second. It is after this and before their vessels carrying mining equipment - if that is indeed their intent and not simply a ruse - are sent out that you should approach their hangar bay. If our troops board at that point, they will likely be of the most use while encountering the least resistance. Mr. C'Thrux, friend Nithab, Mr. Nadela, good luck to you."

"Thank you, ma'am," Yibthub said.

"Be ready, Radd. Here come their fighters. You might need to do some fancy flying," Kenma advised.

"I'll turn to face them so they don't hit the engines again," Radd said.

"They might turn around and hit us from behind."

"Let's stay put until they pass," Taelan suggested. "There's no reason they'd aim for the engines if we aren't moving."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Kenma agreed.

"Good thinking, Taelan," Radd said. "Random question, where's Gheri?"

"I suggested he take a nap, or even just rest. If he relaxes, maybe he'll be less of a nuisance."

"Good. So, I guess we just sit this out for now?" Radd looked back and forth between Taelan and Kenma to see if there were any objections. There were none.

Taelan's plan proved to be a good one. Recognizing it to be a civilian ship, most of the TIE fighters ignored it and flew past. A few Imperial pilots, bothered by the way the _Terrapin_ was just sitting in the middle of a battle, not moving, not firing on them, nothing, did fire a few experimental shots, but when the hull held firm and fire was not returned, they too passed by. None thought to turn around and fire at the rear. Radd watched them, and saw that they were succeeding in clearing a corridor. The Imperial and Valoccaran forces were fairly evenly matched and equally skilled, but it mattered little, because it was plain to see that the Imperial pilots were not focusing on destroying enemy ships so much as luring them away. Radd only knew of one person who would've thought of that.

"Very clever, Rex," he muttered aloud. Now the dropships began to disembark, each carrying over a dozen stormtroopers. "General," he said into the comm panel, "you'd better tell your pilots to focus on taking out those troop carriers, or your ground forces are going to have quite a mess on their hands." He received no direct response, but many Valoccaran ships did redirect their attention and began to fire on the awkward, box-shaped vessels. His face fell when he saw that little if any damage was being done. "Those things are armoured!" He addressed the general once again. "Target the engines. That'll be their weak point. I repeat, target the engines!"

"Acknowledged," General Randan's voice said this time. Radd's suggestion seemed to work, as he was pleased to see many of the enemy ships beginning to explode. A few made it past the defensive line, but most were destroyed.

"I think it's time we make our approach," Kenma said after a pause. "There can't be many more."

"All right," Radd said nodding. "Take us in." The _Terrapin_ flew at the _Quasar_ from the port side, then swooped low to run along the dreadnaught's underbelly. The turbolasers began to fire. "Son of a Hutt!" he yelled. The mighty blasts shook the ship violently, actually pushing them off course, and the green flashes when they hit were blinding. "Hang on, I'm taking over navigation. We've got to dodge these or I'm afraid they're going to shake something loose." By swooping and weaving, he was able to avoid the blasts, but it was taking his full concentration to do so. He addressed the pilots in the docking bays. "I don't know what we're going to do. Unless someone takes out a couple of these turbolasers for us, I don't see any way we can get you guys on board. Uh, that's 'guys' in the unisex sense of the word."

Andor C'Thrux groaned. "I'll go. I'll take out however many I can."

"No offence Andor," Radd said, "but I have a way better reaction time than you, and I'm barely dodging these!"

"My Y-Wing's a smaller target, and it actually has weapons. Not to mention I'll have less to contend with if I can knock out a few."

Radd flipped a switch. "If you're sure, you can go when you're ready. Be careful out there, bud."

"Don't worry, I've got my lucky hat." The Y-Wing passed through the shield and out into space.

Radd was only periodically able to see what was going on as he continued to evade the turbolasers. He saw Andor's fighter skimming along as close to the underside of the _Quasar_ as possible. Most of the turbolasers could not manage the necessary angle, or else they would have been at risk of blasting the _Quasar_ 's underbelly. On the bridge, Admiral Dakken was cursing this basic safety design feature. The relevant region of the hull was almost out of intact turbolasers by the time Andor ran out of proton torpedoes. Only two remained functioning. Andor now began to do fly-bys, zipping past at a shallow angle while firing rapidly, then turning about and repeating the process. Another turret exploded. He was making a pass of the last one when a lone TIE fighter came up on his tail.

"Behind you!" Radd yelled.

"Huh?" Andor grunted, twisting to look over his shoulder. The enemy fired, hitting the Y-Wing. "Hull's been breached!" Andor screamed. The panic in his gruff voice was plain. "I'm hit! I'm hit!" Radd said nothing, fearing there was nothing he could do. He turned to aim at the TIE fighter and accelerated. There was a loud creaking of metal as the small vessel was crunched against the bow of the _Leporine Terrapin._ Kenma thrust out his hand, using "the Source," as he called it, to heave the wrecked TIE fighter at the last turbolaser turret, where both were consumed in a ball of fire. "There's fire! Got to bail!" Andor yelled. He slammed his hairy fist on a button. The cockpit opened and he was sucked out into space, moments before his Y-Wing blew up.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Radd swung the _Terrapin_ around.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Kenma.

"What does it look like, I'm going back for him!"

"Radd!" Kenma put a firm hand on his student's shoulder. "It's too late! He's dead! Don't you know what happens in a vacuum? Your head explodes!"

"No it doesn't!" Radd bellowed at him. Kenma would have taken offence were not Radd's distress so obvious. Instead he looked to Taelan in surprise.

"It doesn't?" he asked. Taelan shook her head.

"It really doesn't."

"Get us close," Radd ordered, leaping up. "Flip the shields to allow incoming objects. I'm going to pull him in. Taelan, come on."

Down in the docking bay Andor had flown out of, Radd watched nervously for his friend to come into view. It took only a matter of seconds, but the urgency of the situation made it feel longer. He shut his eyes, extended his arm, and reached out through the Force, feeling for Andor. It was not difficult. The intense region of fear, pain, and confusion was unmistakable. And there was something else he felt. It was… a thought? Yes, he was actually picking up a thought! " _They've killed me! These karking bucketheads've killed me! If I could get my hands on them, afterwards they wouldn't be able to tell their backsides from their-"_ Yes, that was Andor C'Thrux. There could be no mistake. Radd drew him in, pulled him towards the ship. Andor's limp form passed through the shield, and stopped spinning in the presence of the artificial gravity. Radd lowered him gently to the floor. He and Taelan ran over.

"... gonna… make 'em sorry… breakfast…" Andor murmured before blacking out. Taelan hooked one of her arms under each of his and tried to lift him, but the abnormally large Whiphid was awkwardly tall and heavy even for her.

"Unnf! Little help?" Taelan gasped. Radd lifted Andor's legs, and together the two were able to carry him up the stairs. Taelan had to reach back with her foot to push open the door when they came to the sick bay. It was a small room, equipped with the bare necessities. Radd sighed in irritation when he saw that the bed was not wide enough. Fortunately, even with his hands full he was able to use the Force to pull out an extendable section, intended for just such occasions. They both panted heavily when they had finally manoeuvred Andor onto it.

"See what you can do," Radd told Taelan. "I have to get back to the mission."

"I understand." For once, Radd did not question the truth of that statement. Although she had no formal training, when called upon to act as a physician, she knew what she was doing. He acknowledged the irony that he would be fine with her operating on people if necessary, but the ship? Never.

Radd had just returned to his seat in the cockpit when the general contacted them again.

"Mr. Carkadian, what is going on? Your movements have been erratic, and we register one of our ships destroyed! Do you still think the plan can succeed?"

"I think everything's going pretty well, ma'am. I owe you a bomber, though. Andor C'Thrux took out most of the turbolaser turrets, which were a little stronger than I bargained for. He was hit by a TIE fighter and had to eject, but we've retrieved him and he's being tended to."

"That is a relief to hear. Carry on, then, before they can send down their mining equipment. And when you find out more, please update me on Mr. C'Thrux's status."

"Will do, ma'am." Radd approached the opening of the _Quasar_ 's hangar bay. He rolled the _Terrapin_ upside-down and activated the magnetic clamps, sticking them to the massive ship's hull. "Okay fellas, this is your stop."

"Good luck, Radd," Flash said.

"May the Force be with you," Radd replied. The two X-Wings disembarked, turning sharply upwards after a few seconds and disappearing into the belly of the _Quasar_. Radd waited a few seconds, wondering whether he ought to leave or stay put until they returned. Suddenly, he heard Yibthub's voice from the comm panel.

"We're surrounded! We must surrender! They knew we were com-" The transmission cut off.

"Blast!" Radd yelled. "General, we've got a problem. It was a trap. They've captured the other two pilots. They're alive as far as I can tell. That's all three down."

"How is Mr. C'Thrux's condition?"

"Taelan!" Radd called. She came running. "How's your patient doing?"

"He'll recover. But he has depressurization sickness, and he can't see or taste. His vision should be back by the end of the day. He might not taste anything for a few days."

"That's troubling news," Dano Randan said. "I suppose it wouldn't do to have him flying even if he had a ship. Mr. Carkadian, I guess you'll have to return to base so we can send some more fighter craft and pilots with you."

"All due respect, general, I don't think there's time enough for that. We'll have to take matters into our own hands."

"If you think you can get aboard, you know what to do. I must caution against this course of action, however. If you are cornered or ambushed, you will likely not be shown the same mercy. As a Jedi, you would likely be shot on sight."

"Duly noted." He ended the transmission.

"You're probably right about not having enough time and all," Kenma said to him, "but might I ask just how you're thinking of getting in there?"

"Well, I think I might need to do some fancy flying."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"You wouldn't like it if I told you."

"I don't like it that you aren't telling me."

"Do you see where you used the TIE fighter to take out that turbolaser turret? A shield's sealed the breach."

"Lad… tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Uh… what are you thinking?"

"That you're about to do something reckless."

"Then you know there's no talking me out of it. Do you think the engines are still a weak point on something that big?"

Kenma sighed in resignation. "I don't know. Probably."

Radd walked back to sick bay. Andor was sitting up. He and Taelan were chatting.

"It's me," Radd said, remembering Andor probably couldn't see him yet.

"I take it 'me,' as in 'you,' means Radd kriffing Carkadian? 'It's me' doesn't help a whole lot when I'm blinder than a karking Miraluka! Oh, and get this. I actually forgot my lucky hat today. I guess I'm just tougher than I thought."

"Actually, my middle name's Hejeg, but that's not the worst guess I've ever heard," Radd said with a smile. "Now, I have bad news, good news, and more bad news. The bad news is, Flash and Yibthub were ambushed as soon as they boarded. The good news is, they're alive and we're going to try to rescue them."

"What's the other bad news?"

"Brace yourself. Literally. We're going to be making an improvised entrance."

"I… don't know what that's a euphemism for. Or if I want to know."

"You probably don't. What were you two talking about, anyway?"

"Taelan was just telling me she's never met another Lyrak."

"Really? She's never mentioned that to me."

Taelan shrugged. "I guess we never got on the subject."

"Anyway… brace yourselves. Just… stay here and try not to get hit with any flying objects."

Radd returned to the cockpit. He turned to Kenma and opened his mouth to speak.

"Brace myself," the older man said, "I know. Don't you think you should warn Gheri?"

"Nah."

Radd detached the _Terrapin_ from the _Quasar_ , went far past the titanic ship, then turned around to face its rear. The engines burned like the fires of Mustafar… and Radd sped straight at one.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Radd and Kenma both screamed as they barrelled towards the live engine. The former's scream was more of a war cry, while the latter's was of appropriate terror. As the _Terrapin_ neared its target, their view grew exponentially brighter until the light was blinding. Pilot and co-pilot shut their eyes against the glare as they hurtled into the engine's inner workings. There came a series of loud popping and crackling noises as the intense energy within shorted out the _Terrapin_ 's electrical systems.

There was a mighty crash and a shower of sparks as the ship punched through the rear bulkhead and skidded along the floor, bursting through several more walls as it went before coming to a stop. Radd was breathing heavily.

"Can you imagine if that hadn't worked?"

Kenma's eyes were wide. "That's pretty much what I've been doing."

Gheri Ran-Cha came running into the cockpit. "What happened? What was that?" He looked out the window. "Where are we? What have you done?"

"Change of plans. I'm heading a boarding party. Stay here and see if you can help Forty repair the ship. Anyone shows up, hide. Regardless, keep quiet. Anyone finds you, don't resist."

Radd went to find Taelan and Andor. Neither appeared to have been injured.

"Did you just plow us through the side of a ship?" Andor asked with an almost disbelieving grin.

"Actually, it was the rear. Please resist the obvious jokes. How are you feeling?"

"Been worse. I'm seeing blurry shapes. Think you must've rattled something into place."

"You might've told us what you had planned," Taelan said.

"You never would've agreed with it."

"Well, you're not wrong there."

"Does he still need constant supervision?" Radd asked, indicating Andor.

"He shouldn't. His condition is completely stable."

"I can't taste anything," the Whiphid complained.

"You'll live," Taelan laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Right. So what I'm thinking is, Andor stays here. Gheri and Forty are repairing the ship. Kenma can stay too, to keep watch. You and I can go look for the brig. We'll get Flash and Yibthub out, then the four of us will head for the hangar bay, try to stop them sending down anyone else. We can figure out what to do next when we come to that. Andor, just… stay here. I don't think they'll shoot a guy who's unarmed and temporarily blind. Just don't go mouthing off if anyone does get in here."

"I'm not making any guarantees."

"Sounds like a plan," Taelan said.

"Then let's get out of here. I would imagine we've been noticed by now. Grab some medical supplies. They might be hurt."

A few moments later, Radd and Taelan were crouched in the starboard docking bay, near the outer wall where the shield would have normally been. Radd peered out towards the front. There were two stormtroopers, but mostly just maintenance workers. All were staring in shock, unsure what to make of the combination of the damaged engine and the intact civilian ship sitting in the room. Eventually, a loud bang from the damaged engine snapped them out of their daze, and the maintenance workers started off to inspect the damage. About half went around the _Terrapin_ to the left, the other half to the right. They all gave it a wide berth, possibly expecting it to explode. Radd and Taelan pressed themselves back against the wall. Everyone passed by without noticing them.

Then one of the workers glanced back, and froze as he found himself making direct eye contact with Radd. Radd went as still as a statue, not even breathing. Though he would never be certain, he almost suspected after the fact that he had even stopped his own heart. After what felt like an eternity, he was able to will his arm to move, slowly now, no sudden movements, to pinch a fold of his robe, which he lifted slightly and then dropped. The worker finally broke free from his suspended animation.

"Jedi! There's a Jedi there! Someone do… do something!" He ran off. The stormtroopers came running.

"There!" one yelled. Both opened fire.

Radd grabbed his lightsaber, its green blade leaping forth from the emitter just in time to deflect an oncoming blaster bolt. The first few shots either missed or were deflected at wild angles as Radd stood up and moved behind cover. Gaining his focus, he returned the next shot to its sender, causing the blaster to explode in the stormtrooper's hands. Using the Force, Radd pushed the dazed soldier backwards, flinging him against the wall, where he collapsed in a heap.

"Call for backup!" the remaining trooper yelled.

"Who are you talking to?" Radd asked sincerely, lowering his lightsaber. The stormtrooper looked over at his unconscious comrade.

"Oh, right."

Before he could turn back, Radd flung his lightsaber with remarkable precision, severing the stormtrooper's hands and dropping the blaster rifle to the floor. The situation now safe, Radd ran out of the _Terrapin_ 's docking bay.

"Don't move!" he yelled at the maintenance workers. One had just been heading for the nearest intercom. "Come on now, get in the closet. At least I think that's a closet."

It was. Radd marched the workers into it, all but one, and shut the door. He walked over to where the intact blaster rifle lay, flipped a switch on the side, and handed it to the last worker. He reached out with his mind and made a wave of his hand.

"You are to stand guard and stun anyone coming through this door."

"I am to stand guard and stun anyone coming through this door." The man's tone was sufficiently mindless that Radd knew it had worked.

"You… my hands…" the conscious stormtrooper stammered, finally catching his breath from his shock.

"You can get new ones."

"You cut off my hands!"

Radd sighed before rolling up his left sleeve and pantleg and lifting up the left side of his tunic.

"Deal with it," he said, flexing his cybernetic left hand. "Now then, let's have those helmets so you don't go calling anyone down here." Removing the troopers' helmets, he was unsurprised by what he saw. They were faces he'd seen hundreds of times on hundreds of people, the face of Jango Fett. Their features a little weathered, their hair a little greyer, but unmistakable. The fallen trooper let out a small groan. Radd searched the soldier's utility belt, found a pair of binder cuffs, and secured the man's hands. Then he noticed the small white cylinder fastened to the back of the armour. He turned to the conscious trooper. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Thermal detonators. No use to you, of course. You'd need to know what combination of buttons to press."

Radd pulled off the device and looked at it more closely. There were four plain white buttons along one side, completely unmarked.

"It's a good thing you're going to show me, then."

"What would persuade me to do that?"

"Maybe the fact that I'll be sitting right next to you, so if you try to trick me, you'll be blown up, too. I've been blown up once, and I'm still here. How lucky are you feeling?" Radd asked in a low voice. The stormtrooper sighed heavily, but relented. He demonstrated how to use the weapon. "Your cooperation is appreciated," Radd said as he confiscated the trooper's thermal detonator. "What's your name, soldier?"

A shocked expression came into the stormtrooper's eyes, which soon turned to puzzlement, then what looked almost like pain. After several seconds, a look of clarity came to his eyes. He looked like someone who had just awoken in an unfamiliar place.

"Hound. That was it. They called me Hound."

"Well then, Hound, you're coming with us. You see, we need a tour guide."

"What makes you think I won't call down a security detail the first chance I get?"

"Because if you do, I'll kill you."

"No, you won't."

"No, I won't. Maybe that's a better reason for you to cooperate."

"Maybe it is," Hound replied with a nod.

"Should I put this guy in the closet?" Taelan asked Radd.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Taelan, why didn't you shoot back?" Radd asked.

"Shoot back with what?"

"You mean you don't have a weapon?"

"No."

"Of any kind?"

"Nope."

"Wow. We definitely need to fix that. In the meantime," he said, handing her the thermal detonators, "hold onto those. Don't use them."

"Gotcha." She lifted the downed stormtrooper, now stirring, under one arm like a log and carried him into the supply closet. Returning to Radd's side, she asked, "Shouldn't we call someone before they get suspicious?"

"Good call," Radd said with a nod. "Pun unintended." He went over to the intercom and pressed the button. "Uh, we're looking at some pretty nasty damage down here. Nothing dangerous, mind. They figure some fool must've flown right up the engine. Needless to say, there's nothing left of any craft, but the engine took a nasty beating. They probably won't get it fixed until tomorrow." His impression of a clone's voice was spot-on.

"Roger that," someone replied. "Shouldn't make much difference for navigation. Do you need more personnel?"

Radd signalled to Taelan.

"Negative, we have all we need for now," she said.

"Roger that. If you're sure. Over and out."

"Taelan, change of plans," Radd decided. "Hound, show us to the armoury."

"All right."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

They were almost halfway to the armoury before they ran into trouble. Rounding a bend in a corridor, they almost ran straight into a patrol.

"Intruders!" the commander yelled. The stormtroopers opened fire. Radd's lightsaber flashed out, and in a matter of seconds, half the squad was on the ground. His lightsaber still extended to deflect incoming fire, Radd stepped behind Hound, hoping the other stormtroopers would stop shooting. They did.

"Coward. Typical Jedi scum," the commander snarled. "Know what, go ahead. I don't think you'll do it."

"Do what? You think I'm going to kill him? You think I like to cut people down like I just had to? No. Fact is, I don't want to hurt you. You don't want to hurt him. I'm counting on you wanting to keep him alive more than you want me dead so we can end this peacefully and all go home safely."

"Count on this," the commander said coldly, raising his blaster. Radd threw his lightsaber, impaling the commander through the chest. His shot ricocheted off the ceiling as he fell. Time seemed to slow as Radd dashed forward. Many of the soldiers were felled by his blade, others ran away, and a couple threw their rifles down and their hands up. Taelan grabbed a blaster rifle off the ground, set it for stun, and sent each yielding trooper crumpling to the ground with one of the distinctive blue rings of energy. She fired after the runners, but only hit two.

"We'd better hide these guys," she said to Radd.

"Don't bother," Hound told her. "The ones that got away aren't going to keep quiet."

"We might as well, while we have time," Radd said. "They're going to come looking for us, but that doesn't mean we need to leave a breadcrumb trail."

"Who has bread?" Taelan asked.

"It's an expression," Radd said. "Put them in the turbolift over there, send it down a couple of floors if you can. Oh, don't forget their grenades!"

"Gotcha," she said, setting to work.

"Why are you taking those?" Hound asked.

"We're going to try to use them to blow up something important."

"Well put those down, then. Just wait until I get you to the armoury."

"Are there a lot of thermals there?"

"Oh yeah, and you might find something to carry 'em in. But if you're looking to make a big ol' boom, let me tell you, kid, you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Kid? Hey, I'm 113!" Taelan said. "You're, what, like 50?"

"29, actually."

Taelan looked to Radd in shock.

"Relax, Taelan. He's a clone. They age faster."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Hound sighed, "and I'm a fair sight younger than most of them. They're starting to phase us out, actually, but Admiral Dakken finds us more reliable."

Radd saw genuine dejection in the clone's eyes. Here was a man who'd spent the first ten years of his life undergoing rigorous training, sacrificing a childhood for a future as the best soldier he could be. He'd obviously seen some active service prior to the purge if he'd been given a nickname. It couldn't have been too stressful, because he'd aged very well. Then he had probably murdered his Jedi general like the others in loyal service to the Empire. And the reward for all of it was obsolescence by the time he was barely a year older than Radd.

"Since they know we're here, I think you'd better take us the _second_ shortest route," Radd suggested.

A short while later, they came to the turbolift which would take them to the lowest levels. Taelan pressed a button, then stepped back flat against the wall to the right side of the door, Radd putting his back to the wall on the right. A few seconds passed, then the door slid open with a soft *ding.* An Imperial officer stepped out and found himself facing Hound.

"EU-1138! What's going on?!" His tone was more accusatory than anything. Taelan drew her commandeered E-11, stunning the officer before Hound could speak. They piled into the turbolift, Taelan carrying the officer over her shoulder. They went up one floor, pushed the stunned man out, then started down.

Hound was staring down at the burnt stumps where his hands had once been. Radd saw a mix of fear and despondency in his expression, and a grim realization dawned on him.

"They aren't going to fix you up - are they?"

"No. No, they're not." He didn't know for certain, but in another way, he knew beyond any doubt what fate awaited him.

"You _could_ come with us. You'll be treated humanely."

"No. I'm sorry but… it's not possible. You know I'll try to kill you the first chance I get. It's nothing personal."

"Why? You talk like you're programmed to kill everyone you see with a brown robe and a lightsaber. You're not a droid. You have a choice. If we repel this invasion, you won't have to worry about what the Empire will do to you. We mean to drive them away and stop them ever coming back. You'll be safe."

"Repel the invasion? What makes you think you'll even leave here alive? And no… I don't think I _do_ have a choice. When I helped gun down General Y'Rag like he was some kind of animal… I wasn't there. I mean, I was _there_ , but I don't just not know what I was thinking, I don't think I _was_ thinking. Arrgh, it's making my head hurt. At the time I didn't feel anything, but afterwards it felt like Umbara all over again, shooting my own brothers because of the orders I was given. The Jedi never betrayed the Republic… did they?"

"Maybe some did, I don't know. But does it make sense that all of us would be enemies of the Republic? I was nine years old."

Hound let out a deep, shaky sigh.

"I think part of me's always understood that. But… hindsight, you know? It's nothing personal, uh… what _is_ your name?"

"I'm Radd, this is Taelan. We've got friends back on the ship you saw. Well, friends and a nuisance. How'd you come by your name?"

"General Y'Rag gave it to me. As you can imagine, I was a little insulted at first, but then he told me it was because I… because I had the… the loyalty of… of a dog."

Radd and Taelan looked down at their feet. Hound dropped to his knees in slow motion, and began to cry.

"Hey." Radd knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder - the organic hand. "Hey, it isn't your fault. Look at me. Come on now, look. Now listen: I do not blame you. I forgive you. We are going to do everything we can to help you. Now let's take a look at your situation. You're made to respond to orders, right?"

"Y-yes, that's right."

"What are your current orders?"

"To guard the maintenance workers in engine room 4."

"Well, the situation's quiet down there right now, isn't it?"

"I… suppose it is."

"And they're under guard, aren't they?"

"Yes, I suppose they are." Tears still in his eyes, Hound laughed a little.

"Well, you've done a good job then! Now, the other order… one that affected me rather personally… where did that come from?"

"From the Emperor himself!"

"I don't suppose he delivered the order in person?"

"Oh my no, no, he sent a holographic transmission!"

"Did you see the transmission yourself?"

"No, he sent it to my commanding officer."

"Then what's to say your CO didn't get confused, or just make it up?"

"No… that isn't what happened. I felt it when the order went out. I didn't even really know what I was doing, but I felt it."

"You're a person, not a droid. But you're even less than a droid if you blindly follow an order you just have a feeling about for 19 years. You seem pretty lucid right now."

"It comes and goes," Hound replied with a shrug.

"You know what I bet? I bet that, whatever they've got you programmed with, your brain has gotten used to it. Clone or not, you're human. You can adapt. You can grow. And I'll bet you anything that you've grown stronger than your programming. So how about this: you accept that you didn't receive any order directly from the Emperor, and even if you did, you have no hands or weapons, so the fact is that you _cannot_ comply. The Jedi are generals of the Republic, right? So why not take your orders from me?"

Hound's expression became pained, and he clapped his forearms to the sides of his head.

"I - I can't. I want… Chancellor said to… Traitors! Not droids… Hound, he called me Hound…" The pain disappeared from his face, replaced by a newfound clarity and determination. He rose to his feet, stood at attention, looked Radd unflinchingly in the eye, and raised his right arm in the best salute he could manage. "Yes sir!"

The turbolift stopped.

"All right, sergeant," Radd said, patting him on the back, "are you ready for this?"

"Private first class, sir."

"Hey, congratulations, bet you didn't know you got a promotion, did you? So what say, Sergeant Hound? You ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Ready Taelan?"

"Oh yeah."

The doors slid open. The three stepped out… right into the path of an approaching officer.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Kenma heard the shots, and immediately feared the plan had gone horribly wrong. Calming himself, he ducked beneath the control console and waited it out. When the sound of blaster fire ceased and no one boarded the ship, he rose up to take a look. He was just in time to see Radd and Taelan leaving with a captive Imperial stormtrooper… who, he noted, was missing both hands.

He had to hand it to Radd, he might not have been the greatest duellist in their practice sessions, but when it came to throwing his lightsaber, the kid could probably cut the tail off a vornskr at a hundred metres. Of course, it probably made a difference when you made your weapon yourself. It made it less a tool, and more an extension of your body. It was attuned to you, and you to it, and so the Source flowed freely through both. Or so he had heard.

He got to his feet and went to find Gheri and Forty, but they were coming to find him at that very moment, and bumped into each other in the rec room.

"Well," Gheri said, "apparently we aren't dead. I don't know about Taelan and whatshisface, Radd. Now what are we going to do? Just stay here and wait to die?"

"That would be the most logical option," Forty remarked. "The chances of any of us leaving alive are, by my calculations, less than fifty percent. In my case, zero percent. After all, I was never alive to begin with. I am nothing more than a crude imitation of-"

"Can it, Forty. I need you to smarten up and get to repairing this ship like Radd told you to. Gheri, you're a technician. You can help him. See if you can get the comms working, I want to talk to General Randan."

"If you insist on such a futile course of action, I will comply," Forty grumbled. Gheri simply nodded his head.

"Now then, where's Andor? ANDOR!"

Large footsteps came thundering towards them from down the corridor. Then there came a loud crash and a lot of cursing.

"Blind," Gheri whispered.

"Yes, I remember now, thank you," Kenma whispered back impatiently. "Now go on! Get to it! I want this ship operational by the time they come back."

"You assume they are coming back," Forty noted.

"Dangit, Forty, get your gears in gear!"

The droid and the technician walked out just as Andor made his way into the room, rubbing his shoulder.

"Nice, Father, make the big guy who can't see too well right now come running. Not like you could've come back where I was."

"I'm sorry, it slipped my mind. What did you run into?"

"You know that stack of crates outside the closet near the end of the hall?"

"Yes?"

"Well not that. I ran into a wall."

"Ah. Listen, Andor, while the other guys are getting us up and running, I'm going to be standing guard. But here's the thing. If I may use one of your colourful expressions, I'm way too old for this bantha fodder. I was wondering if you'd want to step out and follow me around. You know, just look tough. I know you're not in fighting shape, but I imagine anyone coming will be less tempted to pick a fight with you than they would be with me."

"Yeah, I can do that. Being up on my feet might do me some good."

The two established a patrol around the outside of the ship. No threats presented themselves. Kenma noticed a labourer standing outside a door holding a blaster, but he could feel that there was only one train of thought going on in the man's brain, a single implanted directive.

After some time, as he made another pass around the side of the _Leporine Terrapin_ , Forty called to him.

"Communication systems have been restored. May I recommend that you transmit any last words you may have?"

"You may not. What's your estimate on the repair time for the rest of the systems?"

"Approximately 45 minutes."

"Make it half an hour."

"We will attempt to accommodate your request."

"Andor? I'm going back to the cockpit for a bit. I have a call to make. Don't try anything stupid if someone comes."

"You calling me stupid?" the Whiphid asked.

"Hey, you said it, not me!" Kenma replied with a smirk. " _Gee,"_ a voice in his head said, " _where DOES Radd get it from?"_ He returned to the ship and to the cockpit. A few controls were once more lit up. Pressing a button, he spoke. "General, are you there? This is the _Leporine Terrapin_. Repeat, are you there?" There was a brief crackle of static.

"This is General Randan. Father Takesch, is that you? Communications are on auxiliary power. We are under siege. Taking heavy casualties. What is the status of your mission?"

"We've made, uh, an improvised entrance. We lost all systems, but we're working to restore them. The entry site is secure. Radd and Taelan have gone ahead. We've had no further casualties."

"Improvised entrance? W-" General Randan started, but was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.

"What happened? General? Are you still there?"

"I think we're okay. These bombing runs are taking their toll on the base's shields. Our fleet isn't faring well. They are not trained for an all-out invasion."

"Is there some way we can help?"

"I appreciate your concern, but the best thing you can do is to gather intel so we can take out that flagship. Unless you can disable it yourselves."

"I don't quite know what Radd's off doing, but I think that's the plan."

"Father Takesch, I apologize, I must end the transmission. We're diverting all power to shields."

"Understood. Stay safe."

There was a crackling sound as the transmission ended. Kenma stood, and was starting back to Andor when he was stricken by a terrible cold feeling so tangible that he doubled over and fell to the floor. His head struck the wall on the way down. He pulled himself to his feet, dazed but conscious. It felt as if a ball of ice had been heaved into his gut. He had no doubt about what - or who - was coming.

"Guys," he yelled, staggering out of the cockpit, "you've got to hide! Now!"

"I see no purpose," Forty said. "To delay the inevitable is-"

"Knock it off!" Gheri interrupted. "We need to hide!" The man was no more Force-sensitive than any other ordinary human (if not less), but even he felt a cold shiver down his spine from the approaching presence. He ran off to find a hiding place, and Forty reluctantly followed. Kenma went out to find Andor. He found him after running halfway around the _Terrapin_. He was sitting on the floor with his head down. He looked up as Kenma approached.

"Father, I think I'm dying. Gonna kick the bucket. Gonna buy the kriffing moisture farm. I'm finished."

"What happened?"

"I don't know… but I feel cold. I feel like the end is upon me."

"Check the holonews, Andor, we ALL feel like that. Now unless you want to be proven right, you need to run and… err, well, you need to run!" He did not suppose there was anywhere around where a Whiphid of abnormal size could effectively hide nearby.

Andor stood, and was turning to run when a door slid soundlessly open behind them. Darth Veneficus strode in, accompanied by two stormtroopers. He raised his right hand with his thumb and index finger extended. They were blood-red bone, but there was something strange around them, like an aura or a glow, but more solid. It was some red aethereal equivalent of flesh. Like a skeleton wearing a ghost. Then he spoke a single word, a cold and echoing sound without source, clearly pronounced although his scarlet skull had no lips upon it and no tongue within, his jawbone merely opening a centimetre or so and then closing.

"SLEEP." From the right angle, Andor C'Thrux would have looked like he was running down stairs as his muscles weakened and his legs gave out from under him. He collapsed forward with a heavy thump. Kenma drew his lightsaber and assumed a defensive stance. His face was illuminated by the blue glow. One of the stormtroopers drew his weapon and fired.

"STOP," Veneficus commanded. The bolt froze in midair. He moved towards Kenma, pausing with his face less than a centimetre from the tip of the blade. "You won't do it. You want to. But you know it's no use."

Kenma was breathing heavily. It was true. He did want to drive the blade forward, put it through the unnatural yellow light that glowed in the otherwise vacant left eye socket. Yet he knew he would accomplish nothing by doing so.

"I know what you are, Sith Lord. You may have fooled the Imperials, but you don't fool me. I know the stories. And you must know you've got no business being here."

"Ah, the Rule of Two. Lord Bane had sound reasoning… but seldom has that command ever been obeyed."

"Actually, I meant you've no business coming to a planet like this. If the Empire expects to find a band of Jedi refugees, they'll be sorely disappointed. There's nothing here but democracy and some good music. Why send you?"

"You are correct that their mission does not require me. Nor does it interest me. My reasons are my own. Or have you sincerely not felt it?"

"I… I think I know what you're talking about. Under the… under the…"

"Beneath the city. Far beneath. I'm sure you've seen the peak?"

"The old well, in the capital square…"

Veneficus hissed out a pleased sigh.

"Good. Indeed, that is where I will be headed. You might consider it a… pilgrimage, of a sort. Father Takesch, you and I are civilized beings, and we can handle this in a civilized manner. You and your friends do not need to die today. You can leave my task unimpeded, and I will leave you in peace. Do we have an agreement?"

Kenma lowered his head and sighed. He paused, then deactivated his weapon.

"Okay."

"There, you see? That wasn't such a difficult choice, was it?" Veneficus turned to the stormtroopers and gave a wave with his hand. "You are dismissed."

As Veneficus was turned, watching them leave, Kenma drew his lightsaber and swung it clean through the Sith Lord's midsection. It was as easy as slicing through air… and had as much effect. His black robe billowed and parted like smoke, then recoalesced as if nothing had happened. Veneficus turned with disappointment in his skeletal expression.

"If that's how it is, then." He stretched a hand toward the stunned priest. "SLEEP." Kenma fell like a stone. Veneficus made a flick of his wrist. The blaster bolt which still hung frozen in midair went zipping across the room, where it struck the wall right next to the head of the mind-controlled worker, snapping him out of his trance. Startled and trying to figure out what was going on, he put down the blaster rifle and let the other workers out of the closet. "Weak-minded fool," Veneficus sneered. "Transport the Whiphid to the brig."

"What if he wakes up before we can get him there?"

"He will not."

"Understood."

Darth Veneficus raised his hand with the first three fingers extended skyward and the last two folded to the bony palm. The unconscious form of Kenma began to levitate. Veneficus strode out, his captive floating in the air just in front of him.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"You there! Keep your hands where I can see them!" the officer commanded, aiming his pistol.

"Oh thank you sir, thank you!" Hound cried, running to stand behind him. "They cut my hands off and took me hostage!"

"Relax, Private, it's over now. Hello? Can I get a couple of men sent down to section thirty four, vicinity of turboli-"

Hound struck out with his arm like a mantis, knocking the communicator from the officer's hand. Wrapping his arms around, Hound lifted him up and expertly suplexed him, knocking the officer out as his head hit the floor.

"Learned that one in the Clone Wars. Now, there'll probably still be a few soldiers sent down here, but I have a plan for that. First thing's first, mind activating that communicator for me?"

Taelan obliged.

"This is EU-1138. We have a few casualties down here, but the Jedi is dead, I repeat, we got the Jedi. One intruder still at large."

"Well done, soldier," said the voice of Admiral Dakken. "I thought my specialists would have a harder job than this! When this is over, I just might promote you to sergeant!"

"Honoured, sir. Hound out."

"Beg pardon?"

"I uh, said 'EU-1138 out,' sir."

The communication ended. Hound turned to Taelan.

"Make sure you have that thing set for stun." He turned to Radd. "Stow the saber. You don't want any marks on their armour."

"Wait, what do you mean, _I_ don't?"

"Don't worry, you'll see. If it worked for commando droids, it'll work for you."

About a minute passed.

"Three coming from the right," Taelan whispered.

"Just stay down," Hound replied. "Let 'em pass."

Three stormtroopers passed by a few seconds later. When they passed, Hound leaned out behind them, careful to keep his injury concealed behind the corner.

"Hey, can one of you fellas lend me a hand over here?"

After exchanging glances with the others, one of the stormtroopers turned and walked back towards Hound. The other two kept walking. He rounded the corner, only to have his vision lit up by a ring of blue energy before everything went black.

"Nice shooting, Taelan," Radd said. "You know, Hound, I think I get what you're going for here. Taelan, give me the rifle and put these binders on."

"What? Why would I want to do that?"

"Well do you think this guy's armour will fit you?"

"Well obviously not."

"Then this is your best option."

Several minutes later, two men in stormtrooper armour stepped around the corner, escorting a cuffed Lyrak.

"I get why they passed right by us," Radd muttered. "I've got no peripheral vision in this thing!"

"I know," Hound chuckled. "Makes me miss the Mark III armour."

"What in the world happened here?" asked a stormtrooper who was heading down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"We've neutralized the threat," Radd explained. "EU-1138 killed the Jedi, and the big one here surrendered."

"EU-1138, what happened to your helmet? And how did you manage to kill a Jedi without any hands?"

"I'll field that one," Hound said. "After he - err, the Jedi, that is - cut my hands off, they took me hostage. They took my helmet so I couldn't call for backup. But a few minutes ago, he made a mistake and turned his back. I used my arms to strangle him and snapped his neck."

"Huh. Nice job. Maybe that's it for the excitement today, eh?"

"Let's hope so," Radd replied in complete sincerity. They walked away.

"Gotta be honest," Hound admitted, "I didn't think this would actually work!"

"As it is, we probably only have until that guy back there wakes up in his underwear and goes blabbing."

"Well, it's a good thing the armory's right here, then. Oh… yeah… you're gonna have to punch in the code for me. It's 7X… got that?.. 7H9… T1."

"Got it," Radd replied as the door slid open. "Now let's load up!"

The armory was fully stocked with blasters, armour, ammunition, and enough explosive ordnance to level a city three times over.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Hound remarked from behind them. "Now how big of a boom do you want to make?"

"Whatever it takes to disable this thing. I have to say, you don't seem very concerned about your comrades," Radd noted.

"If their minds are anything like mine has been the past nineteen years… well, pretty much anything would be more merciful. Now the trouble is, if you set up a heap of explosives and plan to set it off once you're clear, it'll probably get disarmed. And the alternative… well, I don't think you're partial to suicide. Would it be enough to fry the electronics and leave the ship floating lifeless?"

"Absolutely!"

"Perfect. You, whatsit… Taelan, right. Taelan, take one of those satchels and load it full of EMP grenades. Nah, nah, they're the ones on the bottom. No, the small round ones. They're probably dusty."

"These?" Taelan asked.

"Exactly. Oh… this would probably be easier if you were uncuffed."

Radd went to Taelan and began to remove the binders from her wrists.

"Save us all some time, leave those on," said a voice in the doorway behind them. "Well, what's going on in here?" Agent Nightfall stepped into the light.

"Oh!" Radd exclaimed, too loudly, "I was uh, just tightening the prisoner's restraints. Hound's helmet was damaged in the fight with the Jedi, we came in to get him another one. Then the Lyrak here started struggling a bit."

"His helmet isn't damaged. It's sitting intact outside your ship, right where you left it. Your friends who were still on board have been apprehended, by the way. You came here for weaponry, as all reports had the three of you minimally armed."

Hound snickered at her choice of words.

"Now then, how shall we do this? It seems to me there's been quite enough bloodshed on the _Quasar_ for one day. Perhaps you ought to lay down your weapons and come with me." Her voice lowered to a more sinister tone. "Agent Drunma would not have made so kind an offer had he been the one to corner you."

Radd drew his lightsaber.

"There are three of us, and one of you."

"Don't be a fool, Radd. One untrained Jedi, a restrained woman, and a maimed and aging clone are hardly an army. I've ordered troops stationed at both ends of this corridor. You're completely surrounded."

"What did you call me?" Radd's expression was one of shock.

"The admiral has referenced you by that nickname on occasion. Lay down your weapons. I won't ask again."

Radd, Taelan, and Hound exchanged defeated glances.

"Okay. We give up." Accepting that he had no other choice, Radd stepped forward and allowed himself to be handcuffed. Nightfall briefly looked at Hound, but decided that he was already incapacitated. She approached Taelan. Taelan stood and slowly rose, before whirling around, a blaster rifle in her hands. She fired a shot, passing straight through Nightfall's right leg. Nightfall did not even flinch, instead drawing two lightsabers. The blades glowed a unique magenta hue. With a swift scissoring motion, she sliced the blaster into three pieces, before forcing Taelan to her knees and restraining her.

"What ARE you?" Taelan gasped. Nightfall shot a hostile glance.

"Now move. Your friends are waiting for you." She took out her communicator. "All remaining fugitives apprehended, Admiral Dakken, along with one traitor."

"Well done, Nightfall, assuming this isn't another false alarm. Take them to the cell block. I'll be joining you shortly."

"It will be done."

Nightfall had been bluffing neither about the troops stationed at the ends of the corridor, whom she passed while escorting the prisoners to the cells, nor about Taro Drunma's savagery.

Her only previous experience dealing with Jedi (she was mostly sent after highly corrupt or dangerously disobedient Imperial officials) had been as part of Operation Sickle. A Jedi survivor named Veryn Malasan had been hiding out on a large moon in the Umbara system, Crepusculum. Mad with power over the relatively primitive inhabitants, his self-serving empire and his insanity had become a serious threat. As he was heavily guarded, attacking him in public was not feasible. Instead, she had gone to a high point in view of his chamber window and waited for nightfall, hence the moniker. When Malasan had been lying down to sleep, a single shot from a long-range rifle had sailed silently through the cold night air, through his window, and straight into his chest. None of his guards realized that anything was wrong until morning.

Inquisitor Kayn was equally tidy, but far more gratuitous and sadistic. Sent on a simple mission to eliminate a gang trading in unauthorized lightsaber parts, he had killed not only the gangsters themselves, but everyone in the building sheltering them. Each body was found with a hole seared cleanly through the side of the head by Kayn's plasma sword. It was an ancient weapon predating the lightsaber. The technology had been swiftly abandoned by all but dark side users due to the excruciatingly painful manner in which it killed, and the frequent lethality of what ought to have been only slight grazes. When he returned to base that day, his spectral flesh had looked more solid than usual, and his eyes were burning with a brilliantly bright yellow light.

Taro Drunma… his methods were neither clean nor efficient, but he could get a message across without a single word better than anyone. Sent to infiltrate and destroy a cult of Sith-worshippers, he had returned after only a few hours, drenched in what was obviously the reason his armour had been painted red. When the cult leader had taken Drunma into another room to gauge his Force sensitivity, he had seized her by both arms in one massive hand and by both legs in the other, and had literally pulled her in half. For the other cultists, it had not ended so quickly.


End file.
